Contents Overview
Beautifully Crafted Tributes as Unique as the Life They Celebrate.
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As a funeral print specialist, I have created numerous pieces of funeral stationery over the years. However, nothing prepared me for the moment when I had to design the funeral order of service for my family. Just over two years ago, we lost my Auntie Irene. In the weeks leading up to her passing, she asked me to create her funeral stationery, and I was honoured to do so.
Although this is my profession, designing a funeral order of service for someone I loved dearly brought new challenges. I had to set aside my grief to focus on creating a beautiful 12-page booklet. This booklet would serve as a lasting tribute to Auntie Irene. In this article, I will share how I designed the funeral order of service, funeral photo boards, and other memorial items. I want to show how we can honour loved ones with personal and meaningful designs.
The Funeral Order of Service: A Booklet of Love
At the heart of Auntie Irene’s funeral stationery was a 12-page order of service for the funeral. We chose a floral design filled with bright colours to reflect her vibrant personality. The gerberas we selected for her floral arrangements matched the cheerful tone of the order of service perfectly.
On the front cover, we placed two photos of Auntie Irene: one from her youth and a more recent one. These images, side by side, represented her life’s journey. Beneath these, we included a touching poem that captured her spirit.
The first few pages of the order of service for the funeral detailed the service’s structure. A family member conducted the ceremony, and we outlined what would take place, including hymns, the Lord’s Prayer, and a blessing. This clarity ensured that attendees could follow the order of service funeral easily.
Personal Tributes from Family
We dedicated the remaining pages of the funeral order of service to personal tributes. One especially moving page came from Auntie Irene’s granddaughter, Ruby, who was just three years old at the time. Ruby had painted a picture for her grandma, which we used as a background on the page. Over this, we placed a photograph of Ruby and Auntie Irene holding hands just before she passed away. We included a poem called My Grandma, expressing how Ruby always relied on her grandma as a friend.
Another page highlighted tributes from her other grandchildren, Nathanael and Lara. They wrote a poem titled Our Grandma, and we paired this with photos of them with Auntie Irene, capturing joyful family moments.
As a funeral print specialist, I aimed to make each page of the funeral order of service visually appealing and meaningful. The booklet continued with family photos, showcasing happy times, holidays, and cherished moments from Auntie Irene’s life. These images illustrated her journey with her husband, children, grandchildren, and friends.
A Poem to Say Goodbye: The Back Page of the Order of Service
The back page of the funeral order of service included two important details. First, it contained donation information for Pancreatic Cancer UK, as Auntie Irene passed away from this disease. Second, we included the details of the wake that followed the service. Additionally, we featured a short poem that her siblings sang to her when she was younger: Goodnight, Irene. This personal touch brought nostalgia to the funeral order of service.
Funeral Photo Boards: Visual Tributes
In addition to the funeral order of service, we created two funeral photo boards. One board was displayed at the service and travelled in the hearse with Auntie Irene. This board read, “Celebrating the Life of Irene” and featured some of her favourite photos. After the service, we displayed this board in the cloisters, allowing family and friends to reflect on her life.
We used the second photo board for the funeral at the entrance to the wake. It read, “Let’s All Raise a Glass to Irene,” inviting everyone to remember her fondly.
Memory Cards and Bookmarks: Cherished Keepsakes
To complement the funeral order of service, we designed memory cards and bookmarks featuring Auntie Irene’s photo and a selection of poems. We placed these keepsakes in favour bags on each seat at the service, inviting guests to take them home. This aspect of the funeral stationery added a personal touch, allowing each guest to keep a memory of her.
Conclusion: A Tribute Filled with Love
Designing Auntie Irene’s funeral stationery was an incredibly personal experience. It allowed me to use my skills as a funeral print specialist to create something that reflected her life and spirit. Every aspect of the funeral order of service, from the floral design to the family tributes, emerged from love and care. The funeral photo boards, memory cards, and funeral order of service all honour her memory and celebrate her life.
Although I create funeral stationery for a living, designing it for a family member brought profound emotions. This experience reminded me of the importance of personalisation and thoughtfulness in creating tributes for loved ones. I hope my story about designing Auntie Irene’s funeral order of service inspires others to create meaningful and lasting tributes for someone they cherish.
If you’d like to learn more about how we created Auntie Irene’s funeral order of service, please head over to our Funeral Order of Service page. There, you can watch a video showing and explaining the different pages we designed for her booklet.
